The advances and convergence of computer and communication technologies has led to increased regulation, standardization, and testing and certification requirements for electronic and computing devices to ensure that the many available devices from various manufacturers do in fact communicate with each other and are technologically compatible. Standardization, along with testing and certification, ensures the interoperability of the many devices, guarantees the reliability of the devices and the technology, and prevents interference with other communication technologies.
Many countries that import electronic and computing devices require that various regulatory and certifying marks are attached to the devices before they can be shipped into their country. Several well-known independent organizations offer product testing, inspection, and conformity assessments for regulatory and certification approval. Such organizations that evaluate electronic and computing devices include Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), CSA International, and the Nemko Group. CSA and UL are the predominate certification marks for electronic devices in the United States and Canada, and Nemko provides certification marks for Asian and European markets.
Underwriters Laboratories Inc., for example, has at least ten different electronic certifying marks, each having its own specific meaning and significance. The many variations of the UL mark (which is a “UL” enclosed in a circle) is commonly displayed on electrical and electronic devices, and on computer equipment. One such certifying mark associated with the convergence of computer and communication technologies is the international “emc-Mark” which appears on products meeting the electromagnetic compatibility requirements of Europe, the United States, Japan, Australia, or any combination of the four. In the United States, some types of products cannot be sold without proof of compliance to U.S. electromagnetic compatibility requirements. Such requirements include an electronic device's ability to operate in an electric environment without interfering with other electronic devices (emissions), and without being interfered by other devices in its vicinity (immunity). The types of products that are subject to EMC testing include computers, transmitters, and RF (radio frequency) components.
Limited space to display the many regulatory and certification markings, which are typically in the form of stick-on labels, is particularly a problem with portable computing devices such as a laptop computer or a PDA (personal digital assistant) where the physical size of the device limits the space needed to affix the labels to the devices. The number of required regulatory and certification markings continues to increase for wireless communications technologies such as RF (radio frequency), IR (infrared), Bluetooth, and IEEE specification 802.11. Bluetooth and specification 802.11 are examples of short-range wireless communication technologies that are integrated with computing devices.
In addition to the regulatory and certification markings, other information labels are also affixed to electronic and computing devices, such as barcodes, serial numbers, and similar product and/or component identifiers. The requirements to display these additional labels only exacerbate the problem of device exterior housing space limits for such labels. The following description discusses systems and methods to provide space to attach the ever increasing number of regulatory, certification marking, required, and/or identifier labels to electronic and computing devices when constrained to a limited space, such as with a portable computing device.